London

Tom Carroll comments on a new report released by the CBI today on how stronger supply chains could boost the economy by £30 bn

​LONDON, 20th October 2014- Commenting on a new report released by the CBI today on how stronger supply chains could boost the economy by £30 bn, Tom Carroll director in JLL's EMEA Corporate Research team said: “In this report, the CBI puts the spotlight on a trend that we are increasingly seeing. Recent research undertaken by our location strategy team highlighted that changes in the global economic and business landscape have resulted in an apparent reversal of the offshoring location trend with a number of companies electing to move operations back to the UK and looking to expand their enterprise footprint in lower-cost UK locations.

“Availability of talent, a high level of transparency, an increasingly competitive corporate tax regime and business-friendly environment are all driving forces behind the growth of companies re-shoring and near-shoring in the UK. This is not just confined to manufacturing, but is also something that financial and professional services companies such as law firms are exploring.

“The CBI’s six identified challenges to improving supply chain such as R&D investment and boosting skills levels will help, but the importance of infrastructure investment cannot be overlooked. The London Gateway development is a prime example of this: Multi-modal logistics involving port, train and road are vital to boosting supply chains and making the UK an attractive base for manufacturing and industry."

Adam Challis, Head of residential research at JLL added: "Supply chains remain severely constrained and as a result, are struggling to adjust to the higher rates of housing supply we are seeing in the current market. This lack of adjustment is likely to act as a brake to growth in new activity, as build cost inflation for new residential construction is between 8-10 per cent at the moment. Whilst we see this as a short-term barrier, it is likely to persist for at least the next 12 months, limiting the impact of any new supply stimulus measures in the current housing market."